1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interactive system and an interactive method for conducting an interactive processing for interaction with a user, a two-way interactive system and a two-way interactive method for establishing communication between interactive systems, and a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
As conventional interactive systems of this type, there are known, for example, a talkative parrot sounding device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 11-9847 and an on-vehicle electronic equipment described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 6-239186.
The talkative parrot sounding device converts a voice signal inputted as voice into a text using voice/text conversion means, adds a response attribute inputted by response attribute input means with the text as a talking-to text or a response text, and registers the response attribute in database. In response, the response text is retrieved while using the talking-to text which has been converted into a text from the voice/text conversion means and the response attribute from the response attribute input means as retrieval keys. The retrieved response text is converted into a voice signal by means for converting a response text into voice and outputted as voice from voice output means. Accordingly, it is possible to respond to talking-to by the same word or a specific word and to make the user feel as if an actual parrot is responding.
Also, the on-vehicle electronic equipment stores a plurality of first language words, stores a plurality of second language words different from the first language words in response to the first language words in order to recognize speaker's voice, retrieves a second language word in a second language dictionary in response to a word recognized based on a first language word, and synthesizes the retrieved word into voice to output it. By doing so, it is possible to prevent a driver from falling into a doze.
Further, an interactive system for changing an internal state by a recognition word recognizing voice inputted from a user and changing a to-be-uttered word according to the changed internal state, is utilized in game equipment and the like.
This interactive system has a microphone inputting a voice uttered by a user, a voice recognition/processing section recognizing the voice inputted from the microphone and converting the recognized voice into a symbol string, a conversation pattern processing section controlling a conversation with the user based on the symbol string converted by the voice recognition/processing section and outputting a symbol string suited for the user to a voice synthesis processing section, the voice synthesis processing section converting the symbol string from the conversation pattern processing section into voice, and a speaker outputting and uttering the voice from the voice synthesis processing section.
The conversation pattern processing section has a pattern driving section and an internal model. The pattern driving section inputs a symbol string from the voice recognition processing section and outputs a symbol string corresponding to the inputted symbol string based on a conversation pattern described in advance. If the pattern driving section has detected, for example, a specific word, the internal model inputs trigger information from the pattern driving section, changes a model value indicating an internal state in response to the trigger information and outputs the changed model value to the pattern driving section. The pattern driving section inputs the model value from the internal model, refers to the model value during the processing of the conversation and changes words according to a conditional expression or the like described in a conversation pattern.
Nevertheless, according to the conventional talkative parrot sounding device and the on-vehicle electronic equipment stated above, the voice word of the user is inputted and a preset word corresponding to the inputted word is outputted. Due to this, if the same word is inputted, the corresponding same word is outputted. Since logic for generating an outputted word from an inputted word is finite and the range of conversation is restricted if the number of outputted words is small, a user is bored with the conversation.
Further, according to the interactive system stated above, the model value can be changed and a word uttered by the system can be changed. However, the change of words depends on the rule held by the system and does not yet reach a level at which a user is not bored with conversation.